After seven years of being crammed into trailers without a playground, students of A. Chester Redshaw Elementary School (New Brunswick, N.J.) were filled with glee that ground finally was broken on the reconstruction of their school. All said they anxiously await their first-ever school playground.

The Allentown School Board was considering a resolution last night that called for slashing 38.5 high school teachers, 21 elementary school related arts teachers and 19 middle school related arts teachers, among other teacher cuts.

Business leaders are giving poor reviews to a tentative N.Y. state budget that officials in Albany say is focused on economic growth. The National Federation of Independent Business calls the budget deal a "regressive message to small business owners." It opposes the minimum-wage increase in the budget.

The head of the Senate Education Committee broke into tears Thursday as he promised to fight for dramatically expanded "school choice" in Texas. But Sen. Dan Patrick also announced he was softening his high-profile bill to allow an unlimited number of charter schools to operate statewide, instead taking a more gradual, tiered approach to their expansion.

Sujata Bhatt uses online games to encourage her students at Grand View Boulevard Elementary School to aim higher: "Don't just play games, make them." Now Bhatt will get the chance to teach middle school students how to launch their own businesses at a new campus approved this week by the Los Angeles school board.

The Wake County school system has $2.2 billion in school construction needs, but school board members and county commissioners said Thursday they won’t ask the public to approve a school bond referendum of that size.

A Florida school district has released video that appears to show a bus driver kicking an autistic student down the stairs. Wilkerson was fired after the Sept. 28, 2012, incident, which Tampa police say resulted in a broken ankle for the young girl, reported NBC affiliate WFLA.com. Wilkerson now faces aggravated child abuse charges, the station said.

Chicago parents, children and school personnel were bracing Thursday for the city's announcement of the closure of dozens of public elementary schools to reduce a looming $1 billion deficit, a move some community leaders said would disproportionately hurt African Americans.